


Nerves

by CastielFollowMe



Series: The Voltron Actor AU [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Actor!AU, Alternate Universe - Actors, Anxiety, Family Feels, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 14:48:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14979452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CastielFollowMe/pseuds/CastielFollowMe
Summary: Keith is the newest actor for the Voltron Legendary Defender TV show and he's about to do his very first speaking panel. In front of an audience. Keith might be feeling a little anxious. Or a lot.





	Nerves

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Some of you might recognize this series from my tumblr! I'm trying to transfer a lot of my writing onto AO3. This series is inspired by the VLD Actor!AU that was created by @ackerchou on tumblr:
> 
> http://ackerchou.tumblr.com/
> 
> You can check out the Actor AU tag too for more HCs:
> 
> http://ackerchou.tumblr.com/tagged/actor-au
> 
> The AU belongs to ackerchou and I merely try to use my skills as a writer to see HCs come alive and put a spin. Next to kid!AU, fluff and angst, I LOVE actor!AUs. I hope you enjoy this sweet little AU as much as I have and be sure to check out her tumblr!

“Dude, aren’t you excited? We should document this moment – maybe put it in a scrapbook? Or maybe we’ll just snapchat it to the word? Oh, my gosh, I’m so proud.” Keith snorted when Lance wrapped his arms around Keith’s neck in a dramatic swoon. He bit back a laugh at the obviously fake tears rolling down Lance’s cheeks and looked to the others.

  
Pidge only laughed while Hunk grinned, as if to say _you’re on your own_.

  
With pleading eyes he looked to Shiro, who’s face immediately schooled out. Just as a glimmer of hope was burning brightly in Keith, he watched it die in a flash when Shiro smirked.  _Oh no._

  
“Aw, our little son. Look at how fast he’s grown.” Shiro clasped his hands together and Keith could only stand in horror as Shiro wrapped his arms around him and Lance. Before lifting them  _both_  off the ground. Lance snickered. “Soon enough he’ll be staring in the number 1 movie around the world, according to the New York Times.” Shiro sniffled. Keith bit his tongue hard enough to draw blood.  _Oh no._

“Every movie is apparently the number 1 in the world, or in America. That’s not a good source to rely on.” Pidge pointed out with one eyebrow raised. Shiro merely chuckled but thankfully set Lance and Keith on the floor. Immediately, Keith slithered out of Lance’s arms and bolted away from the two, behind Hunk, before either of them could cause any more damage. All the while, his sides  _ached_  from trying not to laugh.

  
“Seriously, this is a big deal.” Hunk laughed and patted Keith’s head, who whined but didn’t bother to swat away from the touch. “It’s Keith’s first big convention and panel. Are you excited?”

  
Keith licked his lips when Hunk looked at him. “Of course man!” He grinned.

  
Keith was excited, that much was true.

  
However, Keith felt more or less like he was going to throw up, rather than jump for joy. He’d never been so nervous before in his life. Not even after Lance had dragged him to the producers, vouched for him to play a role in the series and gotten the part of the Red Paladin in the TV Series. He wasn’t even this nervous on the premiere dates on Netflix for the show. Back then, he’d been a wreck and practically bitten off all of his nails, while the cast and crew watched every episode and threw a party. Shiro, of course, had scolded him while Lance warned that fans wouldn’t dig an actor with nubs for nails.

  
But the show had been a success.

  
His character had been a  _hit._

  
Keith still got nervous and often stressed himself out way too much, after the premiere and success of the first season but he was getting better. Thanks to everyone’s help, and the family that he had come to know, Keith felt like maybe this could be the experience of a lifetime for him.

  
Of course, Keith had never had to do a panel.

  
Which involved talking.  _In front of fans._  Taking questions. In front of everyone.

  
Normally, Keith was okay acting in front of the cast and crew and even in the past, most of his roles had been stunt doubles or action parts. Very minimal, that attracted little to now crowd attention. Plus, when he was doing a stunt or action sequence, Keith was often in the zone and could forget about anything and anyone else around.

  
He doubted that the crew of SDCC would allow him to perform a fight sequence on stage just to avoid speaking in public.

  
Actually, Keith’s heart was racing.

  
_Was it hot in here?_

_  
Did someone turn the temperature up?_

_  
Where was all the air?_

_  
Who turned the lights down?_

 

  
“Keith? Keith? Hey, Keith!”

  
Keith blinked and his vision suddenly came back into focus, with the black edges fading back. He found himself looking up at the faces of his worried cast mates, with Allura directly in front of him. Dimly, he could feel a hand holding both of his hands and another set of hands on his back. Allura’s hands were cold against his face, but he hadn’t noticed that they were touching him until now.

  
“Keith? Hey, there. Breathe in slowly. Okay? Deep breath in. Hold it. There you go. Deep breathe out. There you go.” Allura firmly spoke, eyes never once looking away from Keith. “Keep breathing, deep breaths. Keith, you need to take deep breaths.”

  
Keith hadn’t even realized that his breathing had gotten shallow and quick in pace.

  
Carefully, he followed her movements. Allura smiled. “There we go. Deep breaths in and out. Good, good.” Slowly, Keith’s breathing slowed and he felt the oxygen returning to his body, though his heartbeat was still beating at least a hundred miles an hour in his chest.

  
“Hey, do you want some water?” Pidge asked softly, appearing in the peripherals of Keith’s vision. Keith blinked and attempted to form words but his tongue and mouth were unwilling to cooperate and all he could managed was a small croak.

  
However, Pidge nodded and soon disappeared from his sight before returning, this time with a cup in hand. Carefully, Allura backed away from Keith, with one hand on his shoulder and Pidge titled the cup towards Keith’s mouth. Shakily (and more than a little embarrassed) Keith grabbed the cup and drank.

  
“Thanks.” Keith’s cheeks burned when he finished and Pidge smiled down at him. “Um, sorry?” His eyes casted downward in embarrassment and Keith was  _humiliated_  that his friends had just witnessed that. He hadn’t had a blown panic attack in years, even with the stress, nerves and anxiety he constantly felt, because he’d learned several techniques to keep himself from panicking.

  
At least in public.

  
“Sorry?” Lance frowned. “What for buddy? Jeez, you sure know how to scare a guy. One minute you’re on the floor and the next you’re almost passed out on the ground like an old drunk. If Shiro hadn’t caught you, you’d be lying on the ground!”

  
Keith could feel his ears burn when he realized that it was Shiro holding his back up.

  
“I’m sorry. I usually don’t do this, especially in front of people.” Keith mumbled, picking off imaginary dirt from his shoes. He couldn’t bring himself to face his friends just yet. “It hasn’t happened to me in a few years. I don’t usually panic that bad.”

  
“Keith, have you had an attack before? While working on Voltron?” Keith flinched at Shiro’s voice and swallowed.

  
“No, no. I haven’t panicked like that around anyone –”

  
“What about alone?”

  
Keith froze. His hesitation, though, spoke louder than any words he could have said. He could hear the surprised gasps from everyone around him.

  
“Keith…” Lance trailed off, for the first time, unsure of what to say to his friend. He’d felt that he and Keith had gotten far with their relationship ever since the first day that Lance met Keith, when asking this random stranger to help with lines. Keith had been a shy ball of nerves since day one, but as the weeks and months passed with filming, Keith had opened up from his shell.  He and Lance had done several snapchat stories together and trolled through social media to interact with the fans. The two often hung out outside of filming. Keith had made progress with all of them. From teaching Allura the proper stances and moves for fighting and blocking, to being the only other one able to keep up with Pidge’s sass and snark, to enjoying coffee with Hunk in order to go over some of their favorite novels and plays that they had seen, and to even being the only one to not break character during one of Shiro’s silly moments.

  
He knew Keith was still stressed and nervous – hell, Lance could remember his first few major roles. But he’d never considered that this was bothering Keith this much.

  
What hurt the most, though, was that  _no one had noticed_.

  
Not even him.

  
“Keith, why didn’t you tell any of us. We could have helped.” Hunk swallowed thickly.

  
“It’s humiliating.” Keith mumbled bitterly. “I never wanted any of you to see this, I hate this part of me! I don’t know why I get so scared and nervous, it doesn’t make any sense.”

  
“Keith,” Pidge laid a hand on Keith’s shoulder when Keith finally looked up. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of for being anxious and nervous. We know that is who you are, and you’ve already come so far for someone who didn’t  _prepare_ or  _try out_  for a role in this show. For a guy who doing a lead role, with no prior experience or training, you’re doing a pretty badass job.” Pidge smiled brightly and for a second Keith forgot how to breathe.

  
“Yeah. Of course, you’re nowhere on my level, babe, but I can’t blame you. It takes skilled masters to come even close to this perfection.” Keith’s chuckled sounded more like a choked snort, but at least it was a laugh. Lance could feel his own smile brightening. “Besides, Pidge still cries during their brother’s scenes.”

  
“Hey!” Pidge slapped Lance, playfully in the arm.

  
“Ow! Geez, I thought we were friends. Why the hell would you hit me so hard?”

  
“What I think Lance is trying to say, is we all have flaws and parts of us that maybe we’re not proud of. But that’s who we are and we love every aspect of each other.” Shiro chimed in with gentle eyes and a soft smile. Keith’s eyes burned.

  
“I wouldn’t mind if Keith decided to, I don’t know, chop off that mullet. OW! Pidge, seriously!?”

  
“You’re a part of this family now, Keith, and I doubt you’re ever going to get rid of any of us.” Shiro ignored Lance’s whines and pouts from behind them. Keith’s lips turned into a weak smile. “But, Keith. Please let us help? If you’re ever having a panic attack, come to one of us. Or all of us. We want to help you and you shouldn’t ever have to go through this alone.”

  
“Yeah, seriously. Come find us. Or maybe Allura first and then the rest of us, because it seems like Allura’s pretty good at the “keep breathing” speech.” Hunk laughed, causing Keith to snicker.

  
“Of course. As a member of the Voltron family, you’re ours to help. Let us, take the stress of your shoulders. You’re not alone anymore.” Allura’s smile was soft and felt like a thousand flowers had rained down upon Keith. He grinned shakily when the others pulled him upright to his feet.

  
In the background, Keith could hear the announcer beginning to announce each actor and the crowd was beginning to go wild. Keith’s heart was still racing.  
As everyone went on stage, leaving Lance and Keith last, Lance turned to Keith with eyes full of concern but smile as bright as the sun.

  
“You going to be okay out there?” He asked. For a moment, Keith paused in order to listen to the sounds of the crowd yelling and screaming before taking a deep breath.

  
“Yeah. I will.”

  
“Good, ‘cause I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be the fangirls fainting, not the actors. Very unprofessional if you ask me.” Lance ducked away with a laugh, before Keith could smack him and literally jumped onto the stage when his name was announced.

  
Keith’s heart was still racing but there was a smile etched on his face.

  
_“And last, but certainly not least, we have our newest member to the Voltron family. Introducing, our broody, temperamental, Red Paladin, Keith Kogane!”_

  
Keith stepped onto the stage and the crowd cheered.


End file.
